Report Deadlines and Who Files

Important Campaign Finance Dates

2025 YEAR-END DUE: JANUARY 30, 2026

• Deadline: The last Friday in January each year.
• What needs to be reported: All transactions from the last report through December 31, 2025.
• Who files: ALL statewide candidates & statewide Elected Officials, statewide political action committees, statewide political parties and statewide *ballot question committees.

PRE-PRIMARY DUE: MAY 18, 2026

• Deadline: Fifteen (15) days before the Primary Election.
• What needs to be reported: All transactions from the last submitted report through May 13, 2026.
• Who files: All statewide candidates and statewide elected officials, statewide political action committees, statewide political parties, and statewide ballot question committees. All legislative candidates and legislative candidate campaign committees. All county candidates and county candidate campaign committees in counties with a population greater than 10,000 - filed with the county auditor.

PRE-GENERAL DUE: OCTOBER 19, 2026

• Deadline: Fifteen (15) days before the General Election.
• What needs to be reported: All transactions from the last submitted report through October 14, 2026.
• Who files: ALL statewide candidates and statewide elected officials, statewide political action committees, statewide political parties, and statewide ballot question committees. ALL legislative candidates and legislative candidate campaign committees. ALL county candidates and county candidate campaign committees in counties with a population greater than 10,000, and ALL county political parties - filed with the county auditor. ALL auxiliary organizations.

2026 YEAR-END DUE: JANUARY 29, 2027

• Deadline: The last Friday in January each year.
• What needs to be reported: All transactions from the last report through December 31, 2026.
• Who files: ALL statewide candidates, statewide political action committees, statewide political parties, and statewide *ballot question committee, ALL legislative candidates & campaign committees and ALL county candidates & campaign committees (in counties over 10,000 population; filed with County Auditor).
• Political Party Termination: if a political party loses its party status a termination must be filed.

NOTE: No campaign finance disclosure report is required if the political committee regularly submits a campaign finance disclosure report with another state or the Federal Election Commission or a report of contributions and expenditures with the Internal Revenue Service. (SDCL 12-27-3)

PENALTIES: 12-27-29.1 In addition to any other penalty or relief provided under this chapter, the secretary of state, may impose a civil penalty for the failure to timely file any statement, amendment, or correction required to be filed by this chapter. The civil penalty is $200 for each violation. If any violation is made by a county political party or auxiliary organization, the civil penalty is $50 for each violation. Any civil penalty collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the state general fund.
12-27-29.4 Additional penalties not to exceed $250 may be assessed and the secretary of state may refer repeated violations under this chapter for prosecution by a state's attorney or the attorney general.

Ballot Question Committees: 12-27-22(6) If a statewide ballot question committee does not list any activity on the next required campaign finance report submitted to the secretary of state, that committee has until the next reporting period to report activity. If that committee does not have any activity to report by the next reporting period, the committee shall submit a termination report by that reporting period deadline.